With the full national team hardly setting the world alight and the recent cataclysmic demise of the Under-21 side during the European Championships in Israel, suddenly there’s a lot of pressure on England’s Under-20 side to perform well this summer.

The Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign in Turkey in just a few hours against Iraq, with the English public casting a watchful eye over the youngsters who should become the future of the English game.

But after Stuart Pearce lost his job following three straight defeats for the U-21 side in the European Championships, England’s youth setup is set for a major overhaul.

Heading into the 2013 U-20 World Cup, England shouldn’t exactly be classed as dark horses. Yes their players come from a whole host of Premier League clubs but the Three Lions record in this tournament is nothing short of woeful.

In their last 16 games in the U-20 World Cup, England have scored just once. Once. They face Iraq this afternoon, then Chile and Egypt in a favorable draw.

Surely now is the year to buck the trend of underachieving on the world youth stages and help restore pride in the devout soccer nation? You’d like to think so.

During a warmup game against Uruguay last week, England triumphed 3-0 and impressed with their display. The key men for Peter Taylor’s side are Everton’s Ross Barkley, Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Liverpool’s Jon Flanagan.

They all have senior experience in the EPL while Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Newcastle’s Gael Bigirimana add something different to the midfield as both appeared regularly in the EPL during the 2012-13 season.

England will expect to go far in the tournament. In any tournament that any age groups enters, England often see themselves as favorites. Perhaps that is the biggest downfall.

But with Roy Hodgson’s national team stuttering along in their World Cup qualifying campaign and the embarrassing performance of the U-21’s in Israel, Taylor’s youngsters have nothing to fear in Turkey.

England’s young guns should go out and express themselves, play with creativity and pace and take the game to the opposition. That’s something which has been severely lacking in England’s international setup for quite some time.

If these players are set to be the future of the Three Lions, there is no bigger stage to showcase their talents. We’ve all heard the horror stories about how only 30 percent of the EPL is occupied by English players and that the top young talent is getting washed away by foreign imports. But if EPL managers are going to put their faith in English youngsters, they will need to prove they can do it at the international level against the world’s best youngsters.

No time like the present lads. And remember no pressure at all. The nation that invented soccer is just hoping and praying you can restore some national pride by performing well, or even bring home the U-20 World Cup this summer.